The following history of Johnson County is provided by Countywide Guides & Maps.  For more information about the history of Johnson County, you can visit the Johnson County Museum of History at 135 North Main Street in Franklin or by clicking here.  More historical facts are also available at www.countyhistory.com/johnson.

Area History

The history of Johnson County shadows the history of Indiana, as a state, which was established by Congress on April 19, 1816. In 1818, the area in and east of present-day Johnson County was part of the “New Purchase,” a tract of land bought from an indigenous American tribe, the Delaware Indians. The first lands in the county, prior to official organization, went on sale at the land office in Brookville, on October 4, 1820.

Early steps toward settling the new land were made by Jacob Whetzel and his son Ezra, who blazed a trail from their Franklin County home, to the bluffs of the White River. They are considered the first white men to see this land. Settlers followed this route and the Old Indian Trail that crossed the future county from north to south.

John and Ruth Campbell built the county’s first cabin, in 1820, in the present Blue River Township. At the same time, Abraham Sells relocated from Ohio to what is now White River Township, at the mouth of Pleasant Run. The first settlements at (or near) Franklin began a year later. Robert Worl initiated settlement of the south-western part of the county at this time.

With much of the county covered by forests and swamps, converting the land to agricultural use was made difficult by the lack of normal living comforts, as well as malarial diseases. The heartiness of the men and women who populated Johnson County in these early years was a catalyst for future growth.

In answer to a petition submitted by George King, the General Assembly organized the county in December 1822, naming it in honor of Judge John Johnson of the Indiana Supreme Court.

Operation of the new county was a bit unorthodox, as the Circuit Court ran it until 1826.  From that year until 1837, all county functions were the responsibility of a Board of Justices. The first official business of this board was to grant a tavern license to one Thomas Cartin at the request of twenty-four citizens of Edinburgh.

Choosing a location for the county seat was contentious. Though founded two years later than Edinburgh, Franklin won a political battle to become the County Seat. Originally, Edinburgh had been lobbying to have a new county formed around it, by taking land from Bartholomew and Shelby Counties. Because of its more central location, Franklin was better suited (and politically connected). 

Richard Hensley cut the first trace, in 1825, to the township that bears his name. A year later, Mrs. Utterback and eight sons moved to Union Township, soon followed by thirty other families.

In 1831, a brick courthouse was built on the square, replacing a log building north of the new site. A log jail sat just west of the new seat of government.

At this time, the county was home to just over four thousand citizens.

The nine townships in the county are of varying, but comparable, sizes. Blue River, being only half as large as the other eight, is the lone exception. 

Over the past 180 years, the county has seen some communities thrive, others stagnate . . . and one fade away.

Far West, once located on the western edge of White River Township, is but a memory. Several towns have changed names. Rockland was called Clarksburg, and Nineveh was Williamsburg. Union Village is now named Providence.

Some towns that prospered (and some that just survived) did so by the luck of location. From 1850 until the 1980s, a railroad passing near or through a community assured growth of population and the local economy.

Some towns had developed strong industries and markets so changing transportation modes did not adversely affect them. Other towns had mills and small industries to support them.

The fuel for much of the growth in Greenwood and Franklin is the state and interstate highway system (as well as suburban expansion of metro Indy).

When Indianapolis was selected as the location for the permanent state capital in 1824, the prosperous future of Johnson County was assured. As Indy grew, Johnson County – and her communities – grew, too. During the 1990’s, the population expanded to over 115,000! Growth projections show the influx of citizens to the northern townships will not soon end.